Jeshma was stabbed a week after she went missing

The 17-year-old was found stabbed to death in bushes near her home in Sudbury Hill, west London, on Tuesday.

Police say there is no evidence she had online relationships, but that she was an avid user of technology.

Mother Manjula said Jeshma used chatrooms "to talk to her nieces and nephews - she had over 30 - and we have a large extended family".

Police say Jeshma may have been kidnapped. Her body was found eight days after she was reported missing.

My instinct tells me that someone tricked her into a car, maybe a person she met who had other motives she was not aware of Jeshma Raithatha's mother

Buildings and garages in the area where her body was found are being searched for evidence of her being held against her will.

Mrs Raithatha said: "Jeshma, you were born like a sparkle in our eyes. You lived through the smiles on our cheeks and will always remain in our hearts. May you always know your soul is now the air we breath and your heart is the beat of ours.

"I know that if she was going to meet someone she would have told me. My instinct tells me that someone tricked her into a car, maybe a person she met who had other motives she was not aware of.

"She had boyfriends but they were not deep emotional relationships because she was not ready to settle down. She always promised that if she was going to get serious with someone, she would tell me.

"Her ambition was to go to university. She was hoping to study music, media and events management. She was thinking about becoming a music therapist to help others.

"She was extremely focused on her studies. She loved music but her ambitions were not singing on Pop Idol or anything like that, she was far more interested in the serious aspects of the world of music."

Internet records

The last reported sighting of Jeshma was at Claremont High School in Kenton, north-west London, on 16 May, but tests show she died on 22 May from stab wounds to the heart.

Police are also considering whether the teenager, who would have turned 18 last Thursday, may have stayed with a friend or boyfriend who was not known to the family.

Phone and text messages and internet records are being examined in an attempt to unearth a motive.

Jeshma's partially naked body was found at the back of a leisure centre near to her home but a post-mortem examination found no obvious signs she had been sexually assaulted.